Lafayette forfeits two games and is out of playoffs because of ineligible player

November 16, 2010|By Marty O'Brien, mobrien@dailypress.com | 247-4963

WILLIAMSBURG – Lafayette High's football team has been knocked out of the playoffs before they have started, the result of two forfeits for using an ineligible player in games this season against York and Jamestown.

The forfeits dropped the Rams record from 7-3 to 5-5 and take them out of the Region I Division 4 playoffs. The Rams forfeited the victories because they used a player for whom they did not have a physical examination form, a violation of Virginia High School League rules.

Lafayette self-reported the violation to the VHSL.

"I'm heartbroken for these kids," Lafayette coach Paul Wheeler said. "They weathered injuries, they weathered kids quitting and they would play you to the very end of every game.

"They deserved everything they worked so hard for. It's a bitter pill to swallow because we didn't cheat. It was a paperwork error. It's sad that the kids get punished for the mistakes of adults. I'm the head football coach and I feel responsible."

Prior to discovering the ineligible player, the Rams were seeded No. 3 in the region and were scheduled to play No. 2 Grafton in the semifinals. Eastern View of Culpeper replaces Lafayette as the fourth team in the playoff field.

According to Lafayette athletic director Dan Barner, the player was ineligible because he "never turned in the results of a physical examination that all Ram athletes are required by state law to turn in before they can participate in our athletic program."

Said Barner: "Despite a system that we have in place in which these records are inspected three different ways, this player escaped my attention until just within the last 24 hours (on Monday), when one of our winter coaches discovered this paperwork was missing for this particular player.

"Virginia High School League rules are very clear on this matter: 'If an ineligible player is discovered to have played in a varsity game, the team shall forfeit their victories for that season, and will be ineligible for any post-season competition.' "

Lafayette's appeal to the VHSL Executive Committee subcommittee was denied 5-0. VHSL assistant director Tom Dolan said forfeits for violations regarding physical forms are almost never reversed if the mistake is an administrative one that should have been within the school's control.

"You have to commend Lafayette High School for having the honesty to bring this to the (VHSL's) attention," said Dolan, a former teacher and baseball coach at Lafayette. "That's always a tough thing to do."

Had Lafayette not reported the violation, it's unlikely it would've been discovered elsewhere. But Barner said he never considered covering up the problem, despite the consequence of a lost playoff appearance.

"The question will undoubtedly be raised: 'When I found out about the ineligible player, why couldn't I have simply not said anything and allowed the season to proceed?' " Barner said. "The answer is, I probably could have. But, here at Lafayette High School, character counts for everything -- more than football, more than winning.

"We have built our entire athletic program, indeed our entire academic program, on a foundation of fair play and moral character. I could never look our players and their families in the face again if I had said nothing, knowing that an ineligible player had participated. This would have gone against everything I and my staff have tried to teach our student athletes over the last 14 years."

The Rams, a perennial playoff participant for 11 seasons after moving from the Peninsula District to the Bay Rivers in 1997, had expected to make a return to the playoffs after a two-year absence.

The Rams should have a good chance at reaching the playoffs next season, as only a three senior starters who played in last week's regular-season finale will graduate.